Rogers says that Army's readiness relies on having a robust American industrial base

May 15, 2026 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL03) spoke recently about the need for America to develop a robust industrial base and why this is essential for the U.S. military - and the U.S. Army in particular. Rogers delivered these remarks at hearing on the Army FY27 Budget Request.

"Today we'll hear from the Department of the Army regarding their FY27 budget request," said Rogers. "As my colleagues are aware, I'm laser focused on bolstering and expanding our industrial base. Last year, we worked to fundamentally reform the defense acquisition system via the SPEED Act. The reforms enacted in the FY26 NDAA, streamline the process and significantly reduce the time it takes to field new military capabilities. This year, the focus of the NDAA will be expanding the industrial base – both organic and defense-wide."

In World War II, the U.S. said it was "the arsenal of democracy" supplying the war materials used by - not just the U.S. military, but also much of what the British, Canadians, Free French, Australians, and Russians used. After the 1980s U.S. industrial capacity diminished and it became popular for American companies to "offshore" manufacturing so they did not have to deal with American labor unions, trial lawyers, and strict environmental regulations. Today 40% of the world's manufacturing is done in China.

"Our Defense Industrial Base, long the envy of the world, has atrophied significantly," said Rogers. "Our global munitions stockpiles are low, and we lack the capacity to rapidly restock magazine depth. The industrial base has shrunk and so has our ability to manufacture for our warfighters at speed or scale. Our government owned depots, arsenals, ammunition plants, and shipyards are a vital component of our overall capacity to manufacture and sustain critical capabilities, but as bad as the contraction has been in the private sector's manufacturing capability, it's arguably been worse in our organic industrial base."

The Organic Industrial Base (OIB) is a critical component of the U.S. Army's defense infrastructure, consisting of 23 depots, arsenals, and ammunition plants that are either government-owned and government-operated (GOGO) or government-owned and contractor-operated (GOCO) facilities. These facilities produce, store, maintain, overhaul, and repair weapon systems, munitions, and other military equipment, ensuring the Army can sustain operations during peacetime, surge, and large-scale contingencies - Congress.gov.

"The OIB has suffered from decades of neglect and underinvestment," said Rogers. "Recent conflicts have exposed weaknesses in the OIB. And weakness in the OIB directly affects our readiness. Mission capable rates for critical weapon systems have fallen well below acceptable levels. I have been beating the drum for a long time on the decline of the OIB and the defense industrial base as a whole. I am glad President Trump shares my concerns and has released a budget that will finally addresses this problem. The President has requested a historic $1.5 trillion budget for our national defense. This budget directly confronts the challenges in our defense industrial base with over $100 billion in investments to revitalize manufacturing, expand domestic and allied critical minerals projects, and secure our supply chains. We need to enact that budget and we need to rapidly turn that historic investment into capability for the warfighter. That's why it is so critical to understand from the services how they plan to accomplish that goal."

"Last year, the Secretary presented the Army's Transformation Initiative, or ATI," continued Rogers.. 'The goal was to position the Army for future fights, streamline force structure, and eliminate wasteful spending. Congress shared those goals, but as questions arose, it became clear the Army hadn't done all of its homework. ATI has since evolved into "continuous transformation". The name may have changed, but our questions remain. We'd like to see a concrete plan on how the Army intends to modernize. Where will investments be made? What risks to readiness do we absorb? And what impact will it have on the industrial base? We want to make sure the Army has done a careful analysis of how transformation will affect our capabilities and force structure. We want to understand how the Army intends to sustain the legacy capabilities our servicemembers still need and use. We want to avoid spending this historic influx of money ineffectively and wasting this opportunity to bolster the DIB. I'm confident that by working together, we can transform the Army and revitalize our industrial base."

The U.S. Army is undertaking a major effort to modernize its Organic Industrial Base (OIB) as part of the broader Army Vision for Multi‑Domain Operations (MDO) 2028/2035. According to Army Aviation Magazine, this modernization push is anchored in the Army's three priorities-People, Readiness, and Modernization-and is essential for sustaining increasingly advanced aviation and missile systems. The U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Life Cycle Management Command (AMCOM), headquartered at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, plays a central role in this transformation, overseeing depots, maintenance programs, and modernization planners who support both current sustainment needs and future capabilities.

A key focus of the modernization effort is the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD), which overhauls and recapitalizes critical components for the Army's helicopter fleet, including the AH‑64 Apache, CH‑47 Chinook, and UH‑60 Black Hawk. CCAD recently reached a milestone with the completion of its first UH‑60V "Victor" model, a fully modernized Black Hawk upgraded with a digital cockpit and restored to "zero‑hour" condition. The Army is also investing heavily in digital technologies such as "digital twin" modeling, automated scanning, additive manufacturing, and environmentally safer plating processes-tools that will enable faster, more precise, and more efficient aircraft sustainment.

Looking ahead, AMCOM is preparing the OIB to support next‑generation systems including Future Vertical Lift aircraft, the Improved Turbine Engine Program, and advanced unmanned systems. New facilities, such as CCAD's multi‑phase Building 1700 project, are being designed to provide flexible, resilient production capacity with protections against corrosion and severe weather. Despite the technological advances, the Army emphasizes that people remain the foundation of the OIB. Skilled artisans, maintainers, planners, and analysts will continue to drive readiness as the Army builds a 21st‑century sustainment enterprise capable of supporting both legacy platforms and future combat systems.

Congressman Rogers has represented Alabama's Third Congressional District since 2002. He is seeking a 13th term. He faces a challenger in the Republican primary in Terri LaPoint in the May 19th primary election. Lee McInnis is the Alabama Democratic Party nominee.